The term "resource allocation" problem applies to those problems, which have as a common characteristic, a need to allocate a constrained common resource among a plurality of demands for the resource. One prior arrangement generates a recommended solution to an allocation problem in accord with an algorithm comprising the steps of (a) generating a set of patterns as candidates for a recommended solution; (b) setting goals for a pattern to meet before the pattern becomes a candidate for the recommended solution; (c) searching the set of patterns and identifying those patterns that meet the goals; and (d) appending those patterns that meet the goals to the recommended solution. It can be appreciated from the foregoing that an appreciable amount of processing time may be expended to generate a recommended solution--a problem that is generally applicable to most resource allocation arrangements.
Moreover, such prior arrangements typically treat each resource allocation problem as though it were unique and, therefore, follow each step of their respective algorithms, in generating a recommended solution, even though the allocation problem may be similar to, or possibly the same as, an allocation problem that has been solved in the past.